How will the Brooklyn Nets fill their guard rotation without Kyrie?

James Harden will operate as starting point guard for the Brooklyn Nets

So what position does Harden really play these days anyway? Notwithstanding their natural positions at point guard and shooting guard respectively, Kyrie and Harden essentially switched once the latter was traded to King’s County.

Harden has already proven time and time again that he can be a one-man army offensively. The Beard hasn’t dipped below seven assists per game since the 2013-14 season—his second year as the face of the Houston Rockets. A natural scorer who sees plentiful passing lanes based on defensive coverages, Harden is and always has been a more natural playmaker than Irving in the first place.

Kyrie being removed from the lineup only highlights what we already know about James Harden. Since the 2016-17 season, Harden has played a higher percentage of his minutes at the point guard than at the shooting guard—but that doesn’t mean he should be defending that position.

Being a lead ball-handler and defending other lead playmakers are completely different scenarios. While he can be trusted to initiate the team’s offense when Kevin ‘Thanos’ Durant doesn’t choose to just “Do it himself,” Harden’s highly specific defensive capabilities are better suited defending true wings and even forwards instead of true point guards.

One of Harden’s best defensive abilities is his prowess guarding in the post. The Nets have experimented with uber small-ball lineups featuring the likes of Bruce Brown as a big man. Their frontcourt is deep enough that it may not make complete sense, but Harden is actually well-suited to play up against small-ball fours and fives in a similar role.

So while Harden is poised to operate as the team’s lead playmaker and initiator, Brooklyn will need true guards to slide into their lineup alongside him to supplement his defensive deficiencies.